


Rebecca Has A Valentine!

by ohmarqueliot



Category: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (TV)
Genre: Angst and Feels, F/M, Valentine's Day, post 3x12, pre 3x13
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-03-22 03:12:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13755075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmarqueliot/pseuds/ohmarqueliot
Summary: Rebecca gets a gift of roses on Valentine's Day. Post 3x12, pre 3x13.





	Rebecca Has A Valentine!

**Author's Note:**

> Let's just pretend that Valentine's Day fell between the events of the two episodes.

 

“They didn’t want to take the settlement, but I think I can get them to reconsider. Honestly, it’s the best they’re going to get.”

 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Rebecca said slowly, her eyes darting over the settlement offer Tim had given her. “This is actually pretty good.”

 

Tim scoffed, snatching the file back from her. “You don’t need to sound so surprised.” She grimaced at him kind of apologetically, shrugging. It wasn’t her fault that he was more memorable for being a shit than he was for being a good lawyer. Sighing heavily, he shook his head. “Whatever. I’m going to see them after – whoa, what is this?”

 

Rebecca turned just as someone knocked on her office door, and she screwed her face up in confusion at the man standing there, a bouquet of roses held before him. “Miss Bunch?”

 

“Yes,” she said, staring wide-eyed at the roses as the delivery man walked in and held the flowers out for her. “No, these aren’t for me,” she said adamantly, holding up her hands to ward him off.

 

“Are you Rebecca Bunch?”

 

“Yes, but –“

 

Rolling his eyes, he reached past her and put the flowers on her desk. She eyed them warily. “Then they’re for you.”

 

“Ooh,” Tim said excitedly as the delivery man left, looking rushed and harassed. Sure, he probably had a lot of deliveries to make today, but what a great work ethic! “Who are they from? Is it a secret admirer?”

 

“Get out, Tim.”

 

Following him to the door to close it behind him, she walked slowly back to the desk, staring at the bouquet for a long moment before reluctantly picking it up. She wasn’t _certain_ who they were from – it _could_ be a secret admirer, she supposed – but she knew for a fact that she didn’t want them. Because as soon as she’d seen them she’d gotten a stupid, warm feeling in her chest, and that was exactly what she was trying to avoid.

 

They were beautiful, though, not just the cheap kind that you’d still pay a fortune for on Valentine’s Day. Before she could stop herself, she brought the roses up to her face and breathed in deeply, closing her eyes and letting herself enjoy them for just a moment. _Wouldn’t it be nice to receive flowers and not obsess_ or _freak out about it?_

 

All she wanted was a happy middle. Was that so much to ask?

 

Opening her eyes, she found the card that was tucked into the ribbon, unfolding it and staring at the words written there.

 

_Looks like I’m out of sticky thingies._

 

Her eyes closed again.

 

 _Oh, Nathaniel._ She put the flowers back on the desk blindly, and then gripped the back of her chair tightly, slowly letting out her breath. She’d thought that he would have assumed the worst after she’d not turned up at his apartment despite clearly implying that she would, and it had been so easy to just go with that. He was in a happy relationship and she was still so clearly a mess, so it was for the best that she just let this slip through her fingers. They’d spent the last week being overly polite at work, and she spent all day, every day, telling herself that it was good for her.

 

So why had he sent her flowers on Valentine’s Day?

 

Why couldn’t he just get the hint and leave her alone? Why couldn’t he just let her get used to not being able to have him whenever she wanted? Why couldn’t he just give her some space so she could get over him?

 

Sadness turned to anger and she encouraged the feeling – it was easier, cleaner. His fault and not hers. Clinging to it like armour, she stalked out of her office and straight to the supply room, throwing her arms up when she found Nathaniel perusing the shelves. She slammed the door shut behind her. “What the hell is this?” she asked, walking across the room and pressing the card firmly against his chest.

 

Rolling his head back, he took the card without looking at it, and she snatched her hand back when his fingers brushed against hers. Pinching her lips together, she crossed her arms across her chest and glared up to him, irritation sparking through her when he just shrugged indifferently. “Look, it doesn’t mean anything,” he said, brushing it off as though it were nothing. “I organised them last Friday after you’d said we’ll just call it what it is. What is was,” he corrected quickly. “ _Before_ you called it off.” He smiled unapologetically. “I thought it’d be funny.”

 

She screwed her face up at him in disbelief. “So let me get this right,” she said flatly. “You went into a florist.”

 

“Yes,” he said, nodding once.

 

“And ordered me flowers.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“While you also ordered flowers for your girlfriend.”

 

His smile slipped. “…Yes.”

 

Shaking her head, Rebecca turned away from him, rubbing at her temples with her fingertips. How had she ever thought that this could be okay? “You’re something else, Nathaniel.”

 

“Hey, I’m sorry, okay?” he said, walking around her to stay in front of her. He sounded far more annoyed than he deserved to, in her opinion. “I forgot to cancel it.”

 

She straightened up again, facing him squarely and raising her eyebrows. “So it’s just a coincidence that you’re waiting here in the supply room where you’d told me to meet you on your sex note?”

 

Nathaniel opened his mouth to reply but then thought better of it, ducking his head and pressing his lips together. After a moment he sighed in defeat, rubbing at the back of his neck. “You never responded to what I said,” he said quietly.

 

She flinched back, and was glad that he wasn’t looking at her to see her reaction. All of her anger flooded out of her and left her with sadness, loneliness, longing – everything that she was trying to suppress. She didn’t want to have this conversation. She wanted to be angry with him, to yell at him and shake him and not think about how wonderful it would be to be in his arms again.

 

He finally looked up at her when she didn’t respond, and for a moment she saw every terrible thing that she was feeling staring right back at her.

 

They both looked away quickly.

 

She wondered if he didn’t want to think about it all any less than she did. There was a pit in her stomach so large that she thought she might be sick. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she grabbed the first thing she saw on the shelf beside her. “No more flowers,” she said, her voice and heart heavy, and fled back to her office.

 

She made it there without making eye contact with anyone which was a good thing, because she didn’t think she could make it through a conversation right now. Closing the door behind her, she walked up to her desk, slowing when she saw the flowers still sitting there on top of a pile of paperwork.

 

_I could keep them._

 

She couldn’t keep them.

 

Finding a drop of strength from somewhere deep down, Rebecca took the flowers and dropped them in the trashcan, feeling very dramatic as she did so. That only made her feel worse. Falling heavily back into her chair, she looked for the first time at the random stationary she’d grabbed in the supply room. Opening the packet, she took the cap off of the highlighter, pressed it back on, flicked it off again. She stared gloomily at the yellow tip, wishing she were brave enough to take just a little brightness for herself.


End file.
